


Ninebark

by ARoadInCapeCod



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drabble, Episode: s11e03 Plus One, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-07 23:33:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13445766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARoadInCapeCod/pseuds/ARoadInCapeCod
Summary: This drabble takes place during the couch scene in 11x3: Plus One and features quotes from the flashbacks in 8x13: Per Manum. The title is in reference to a type of tree found in north western Oregon. Please excuse the typos, written in haste.





	Ninebark

_Can I take your coat? No. I can’t stay._  
_I got to get back to the office for a while._  
  
Sometimes it’s a feeling or a thought that brings him back, briefly. Mulder knows this because they feel the same or he can detect a subtle furrow of his brow thinking of a scene back then - like the scent of dogwood that brings him back to their time in Oregon. Sometimes, it’s a certain strain, a certain stress, or maybe it’s the unknown that makes him feel guilty and uneasy. Not being able to put his finger on a feeling, a person, a reason - it keeps him up at night, staring at the ceiling.  
  
_Obviously, you’ve had some time to think about my request._  
_It’s not something that I get asked to do every day. But I’m absolutely flattered. No, honestly._  
  
He hasn’t held her in a while. At least - not like this. He remembers bits and pieces of the last time things were like this. Sometimes it comes at him all in a blur, sometimes it’s too clear he remembers it like yesterday. In and out, just like the breath in his lungs.  
  
_Look, if you’re trying to politely say “no”, it’s okay. I understand._  
_See, as weird as this sounds, and this sounds really weird, I know, but I just wouldn’t want this to come between us._  
  
He has done this before, but never at this age. Being this deep in a case, being this deep in Scully, being this deep right beside her. There’s something different now, a sense of urgency of a slippery slope they’re both on. He listens intently, to the soft words drifting away from her mouth. He’s always thought, at least, his friendly ear made up for other characteristics that weren’t as graceful or becoming. His mind and heart become silently heavy, he won’t tell her this. Because he has grown to he hate this back and forth. He offers advice - the best he can. He thinks, he hopes he has her this time. Sometimes, he thinks she’s going to fall away, right out from under him and she’ll be lost in a passerby sea.  
  
_Yeah. I know. I understand. I do._  
_But the answer is “yes.”_  
  
He knows this isn’t right because of everything. He gave her everything and at the time, he was the happiest he’d ever been. All the while knowing, right now and back then, in all their times of loneliness, they turned to one another to fix it. Year after year, it’s something that’s stayed the same - their lives fit together like a mysterious puzzle reminiscent of those trees in Oregon.


End file.
